Call for community views on government’s proposed Three Waters Reform
Taupō District Council is calling for the community to share their views on the future of three waters by completing a short survey at www.surveymonkey.com....
The government is currently proposing significant changes to the delivery of three waters (stormwater, wastewater and drinking water) including the creation of four publicly-owned entities to deliver these services. For the Taupō District, this would see us join with 21 other local council areas.
Every council has until late September to assess this proposal and the impacts on local communities.
Taupō District Mayor David Trewavas said while this is a government-led proposal, and council doesn’t have all the information, it is important to include community feedback at this stage in the process.
“This is about getting the conversation started. While formal consultation would be government-led, we think including your feedback at this stage is the right thing to do, as we believe our local voices are a key part of these reforms.
“What we do know is that compliance costs for water will increase significantly over time so a key consideration for us is whether we want to pay higher rates to keep ownership and control of our water assets or do we want to pay lower rates, by spreading the cost out across a wider area, but see the ownership and control of these assets sit with central government.
“The survey will allow us to better understand the community’s views on this balance of keeping costs affordable for households and retaining the delivery of three waters within council.
“This will also allow us to include our community’s views as a valuable part of what we take back to Government at the end of September,” Mr Trewavas said.
The survey closes on Wednesday 15 September to allow council time to review responses and incorporate into council’s formal response to the government’s Three Waters Reform proposal.
After this, the government has said they will consider next steps, including the process and revised timing for decision-making and consultation.
To fill out the survey please head to www.surveymonkey.com...
For more information on Three Waters you can head to taupo.govt.nz/threewatersreform or head to dia.govt.nz/Three-waters-review.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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